Speak Up! Your guide to changing the world, online and off

Thanks to the internet and social media like Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok, it’s easier than ever to share your views and encourage others to join you in making change. And, due to research conducted as part of the Digital Ecosystem Research Challenge (DERC), we know a lot about how some Canadians are using digital media to get involved in politics. This guide will help show you the ways you can use social networks to make your voice heard and make a difference.

Digital Citizenship, Internet & Mobile

English Language Arts 8-10 Overview

Many curricular expectations in B.C. English Language Arts courses relate to media and digital literacy. Media and digital literacy skills and concepts can be found in the Core Competencies of Communication, Thinking and Personal & Social, as well as many of the Big Ideas, Curricular Competencies and specific course content.

Social Studies K-12

In the Atlantic Canada Social Studies Framework, media literacy outcomes are included under the broader categories of Citizenship, Power and Governance; Groups and Institutions; Culture and Cultural Diversity; Individual Development and Identity; Global Connections; Individuals, Societies and Economic Choices; Participating in Social Studies; and People, Science and Technology.

Technology Education

Many curricular expectations in Newfoundland and Labrador Technology Education courses relate to media and digital literacy. Media and digital literacy have been integrated into the curriculum in the Essential Graduation Learnings of Aesthetic Expression, Citizenship, Communication, Personal Development, Technological Competence and Spiritual and Moral Development.

Social Studies Overview

Many curricular expectations in Newfoundland and Labrador Social Studies courses relate to media and digital literacy. Media and digital literacy skills can be found in General Curriculum Outcomes such as Citizenship, Power and Governance; Culture and Diversity; Individuals, Societies, and Economic Decisions; People, Place and Environment; and Time, Continuity and Change.

Senior Years Information and Communication Technology

Manitoba’s Senior Years Information and Communication Technology courses “focus on analyzing information, communicating messages, and using technology to create products such as print documents, web pages, and video recordings. Students have the opportunity to reinforce and extend the ICT knowledge, attitudes, and skills that they have developed in K-8 and to explore new topics that will support their learning across the curriculum.”

Science Overview

The New Brunswick Science curriculum connects with digital and media literacy through attitudes "that support the responsible acquisition and application of scientific and technological knowledge to the mutual benefit of self, society and the environment." Relevant expectations are found in the attitudes of Appreciation of Science, Interest in Science, and Scientific Inquiry.

Best Practices

There are several challenges in identifying evidence-based best practices in media education: first, because most evaluations compare media literacy interventions either to a control group or to another intervention not based on media literacy; second because, as noted above, there is often a mismatch between what a program is teaching and the results it is measuring. As a result, “empirical evidence of best pedagogical practice, as opposed to self-testimony or retrospective reporting, is scarce”[1]; in other words, while we can say generally that media literacy works, it is difficult to say precisely which elements of media literacy programs work better than others. 

Health Education

In the Nova Scotia Health Education curriculum, media literacy outcomes are included under the general outcomes requiring students to think critically and make informed decisions to enhance health of self, those around oneself, and to demonstrate within a global context and effective communication and interpersonal skills that facilitate positive relationships between themselves and the world.